The U.S. is becoming increasingly Orwellian, as its citizens become caught in a storm of post-truth politics and are caught in the middle of the battle between "alternative facts" and truth. As everyone in every corner of the world has probably already heard, President Donald Trump recently signed an executive order restricting immigration from seven Muslim countries he views to be the greatest terrorist threats: Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Libya, Yemen, and Somalia; this also indefinitely bans Syrian refugees from entering the U.S., raising the question of whether Trump is genuinely trying to eradicate terrorist threats to the U.S. or appeal to our country’s/his own business interests.
The executive order states:
Numerous foreign-born individuals have been convicted or implicated in terrorism-related crimes since September 11, 2001, including foreign nationals who entered the United States after receiving visitor, student, or employment visas, or who entered through the United States refugee resettlement program. Deteriorating conditions in certain countries due to war, strife, disaster, and civil unrest increase the likelihood that terrorists will use any means possible to enter the United States. The United States must be vigilant during the visa-issuance process to ensure that those approved for admission do not intend to harm Americans and that they have no ties to terrorism.
It is no coincidence that some of the Muslim countries left unaffected by Trump's ban, namely Egypt and Saudi Arabia, are those with whom he and the U.S. has business ties. As an Egyptian-American Muslim who is a U.S. citizen, I should be thankful that the people from my country aren’t being targeted, but instead, I’m angry; I’m angry for the Muslims from the seven countries that fall under the ban, and for the families who were halted at the airport. People across the world have deemed this ban an affront to human rights and American values, but there lies criticism beyond the humanitarian aspect of this. If this were a measure taken to reduce "radical Islamic terrorism," in Trump's words, shouldn't a ban also be placed on Egypt and Saudi Arabia, given that 9/11 hijackers purportedly came from these two countries? In raising this question, it proves that Trump's reasons for this executive order are far-removed from domestic security. This seems to support the shaky narrative that is the U.S. government’s coverage of 9/11, however, that is a story for another time; plus, if Trump confirmed Americans’ conspiracy theories about 9/11, that would dismantle the entire system of "alternative truths".
Instead, Trump, as he has shown by this immigration ban, will use his policies to keep feeding the narrative that the Middle East is a breeding ground for terrorism, completely brushing aside the U.S.'s homegrown terrorists and the country’s role in the Middle East. As a report from New America illustrates, zero of the jihadist terrorists since 9/11 have come from the countries that fall under Trump’s immigration ban. Rather, all were U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents.
The notion that a single Muslim-majority nation's population could collectively be "radical Islamic terrorists" sure plays well to a Richard Spencer-type Trump supporter, but the vast majority of us wield the responsibility of navigating our way through the murky waters of post-truth politics and not allowing our President's caustic language to defame the people of an entire religion.
It doesn't matter if in Trump's personal life he is actually fond of Muslims and has many Muslim friends; what matters is the persona he is projecting to the public, a persona that merely seeks to appease the large amount of white supremacists, neo-Nazis, and simpletons that support him. So, what is this Muslim ban all about? It is about appearing to keep his promise of eliminating "radical Islamic terrorism" to his supporters. This is appeasement at its finest. The truth, though, is that an temporary ban on Syrian refugees, a group which includes so many children that have faced insurmountable horrors, doesn't at all do anything for terrorism. But, Trump supporters continue to hail to their leader, thinking he is fulfilling his promises. The only thing he is doing is projecting, to those who support every move he makes, that anti-Islamic rhetoric is acceptable; again, the fact that Trump may have Muslim friends is made irrelevant because this isn't what the media is talking about, and not what comes to mind when we conjure up an image of Trump.
If we’re going to have our voices heard and let our government know that we won’t stand for this type of attack on our rights, we must form opinions based on logic and evidence, not the dubious stories crafted by the media and our now temperamental government. The world doesn't need more sheep, it already has enough Trump supporters.
Sara Barry lives in NYC and likes to call herself a writer. Her writing has appeared on Medium, PEN America, and The Lineup, and she is the editor and creator of the publication The Reflector. When she’s not writing and building fictional worlds, she enjoys collecting old books, exploring new parts of familiar cities, and trying to (unsuccessfully) put her dog on a diet.